Saturday, November 28, 2009

56 newly erected columns in Tiananmen Square marked the 60th anniversary founding of the People's Republic of China celebrated October 1st of this year.As you can see, the day I visited was quite overcast.

Each of the 26 ton columns represents an ethnic group living in China and is said to symbolize their unity, harmony and equality.

On the back of each column inscribes the name of each of the ethnic groups.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Xi'an International Airport was closed due to a snow storm as we waited for our flight to Shanghai. Since I do not live in an area where it snows, I do not know if it is normal for humans with shovels to clear the roads instead of snowplows at the airport.

When we were finally allowed to board, we had to take a shuttle bus to our plane. The terminal did not have a gangway, so we had to walk out into the cold, stand in the snow that has now turned into slush, and hike up the staircase to embark onto our airplane. In this photograph, I am looking back onto the airport terminal and waiting at the bottom of the crowded staircase while the airport personnel check our boarding pass again.

We were stuck inside our plane for 3-1/2 hours waiting for it to be de-iced. While other planes on the tarmac were de-iced by the standard de-icing machine, our plane was manually de-iced. Since I had a window seat, I could see workers climb onto the airplane wing, tap on the ice and sweep off the excess snow. Needless to say, we were quite nervous that our plane was not serviced like everyone else. Many people clapped when the plane took off safely, but I was more interested in it landing safely at our destination. Considering you are reading this post now, you can deduce that I did indeed land safely. And, I might add that it was one of the smoothest landings.

Rear Adm. Ned Deets speaks with Frank Chebatar, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, at the conclusion of the base consolidation ceremony. The two bases consolidated to form Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Fort Story.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I heard about the art of water graffiti, but this is the first time I saw it in person while visiting China. The artist merely arms himself with a bucket of water & a brush and begins writing away on the pavement. Sorry, I cannot read the language, but I am assuming it is various sayings or a form of poetry. If anyone knows, I would be interested to hearing what he wrote.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, overcompensates a left turn while on a driving simulator as a part of the Save a Life Tour in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Following a 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Beijing, our tour guide shuttled us to an hour-long acrobatic show after dinner. As you can see, these girls are extremely strong, fearless, and skillful with keeping those plates spinning.

This entertainer was able to balance on 5 cylinders on top of each other. I felt nervous for him as his stack grew taller.

A member of the audience was selected to sit in the huge vase as theperformer skillfully maneuvers it around so the audience can see the person inside.

Note: Thank you for all the well-wishes from everyone before my trip. Unfortunately, China blocked access to blogspot.com so I could not provide you with regular updates. Now that I am home, more pictures to come.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

People walking above the bridge walkway inside San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. During my visit, one gentleman was terrified to walk across so my friend held his hand and safely made it to the other side, but I hope he made it back across.

Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, after serving over fifteen years with MOPH, gaining invaluable experience while in the positions of National Aide-de-Camp, Chapter Commander, Region Commander, National Junior Vice Commander and National Senior Vice Commander.

He was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer for thirty-three of the total forty-two years that he was on combined active and reserve duty. His combat tours began in 1967-68 when he operated behind enemy lines in for extended periods of time conducting operations with native guerrilla troops as the Executive Officer of the 4th Mobile Guerrilla. He saw additional combat in 1969-70 when he led a U.S. Special Forces Mobile Strike Force Battalion (MIKE FORCE), consisting of Green Beret officers and sergeants leading Cambodian mercenaries, again working behind enemy lines as well as reacting to attacks on friendly bases, often requiring that his unit be parachuted into hostile drop zones.

For his valor and military skills, Colonel Cook was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold and Silver Stars, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Combat Diver Badge, Special Forces Tab, and numerous other U.S. and foreign decorations.

Henry Cook is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a lawyer and resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi. He is a member of the Pro Bono Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims. He’s been a member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also serves as a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Other significant contributions to veterans by Henry Cook include: a major role in the creation of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Ocean Springs and helping raise over $500,000 to help MOPH members in Louisiana and Mississippi who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. In addition to MOPH, he also belongs to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Special Forces Association (SFA), Special Operations Association (SOA), Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW).

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.